Michigan Convict in First Amendment Battle with Department of Corrections

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Department of Corrections could be hit with additional financial penalties for transferring a prisoner to the Upper Peninsula after he challenged policies on personal property.

Grand Rapids federal Judge Robert Holmes Bell has been ordered to revisit whether the state should be hit with punitive damages for its treatment of Kevin King. In a 3-0 decision Monday, an appeals court says Bell misapplied the law in rejecting an additional penalty.

King, a convicted killer, has already been awarded $1,475 for violation of his First Amendment rights. He was given a higher security classification and transferred to the Upper Peninsula from a Muskegon prison for nine months.

The 52-year-old King had helped prisoners file grievances and participated in a lawsuit over personal property.